Pioneering development work at Ardagh Group’s specialist aluminium can plant in Cuxhaven, North Germany, has resulted in the production of the world’s lightest aluminium seafood can. The seafood can, referred to in the industry as a ‘dingley,’ has been designed with a conical wall thickness of only 0.170 mm, a significant advance over its nearest competitor at 0.215 mm. This impressive innovation was achieved by technicians at the Cuxhaven plant supported by Ardagh’s R&D Centre in Crosmieres, France. Together they applied their in-depth knowledge of beading – the ridges, which come in many shapes and sizes, built into the can to give its body strength and stability.
The development involved detailed testing, which established the most suitable shape and size of the beads as well as ensuring the correct distance between the beads to achieve the same optimum stability as cans with standard thickness. The Cuxhaven Technical Service Team also developed a modified seaming technique for the new can. Working closely with Larsen Danish Seafood– the first customer in Germany to use the new lightweight can – they overcame the challenge of securing optimized seaming on a lightweight can with a much thinner body and Easy Open ring pull lid.
Patrick Savouré, commercial director, seafood at Ardagh Group’s metal division commented, “Our innovative ultrathin seafood can is a continuation of the pioneering work that we carry out to achieve higher standards of performance with reduced material input and weight. As is a feature of many of our important developments, the cooperation with our customer, Larsen, was a crucial part of the process, and I am delighted that the new can has been well received by their customers.” The lightweight can is now available in 100 gram or 115 gram versions to all customers, who will enjoy the additional benefit under the ‘Green Dot’ packaging recovery system, where they will pay less for recovery and recycling.
